Dumping-car.



' UNITED STATES Patented April .26, 1904.

PATENT I OEEICE.

DUMPlNG-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,135, dated April 26, 1904.

. Application led September l2, 1903. Serial No. 172,902. (No model.)

I citizen of the United States, residing at De- 16, extending through the slot.

troit, in the county of Vayne and State of' Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Dumping-Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates particularly to dumping-cars having hoppers,and has for its object to provide improved means for closing the swinging discharge-doors thereof. Air-pressure is utilized to lift the doors, the air being conveniently supplied from the air-brake apparatus, the air acting in a cylinder having al piston the rod of which is connected to the doors by means of a lever and toggle. f

An important feature of the invention is a construction whereby either door may be opened.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a part of a car with my invention applied thereto in one position, and Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section showing the invention in the other position.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 6 indicates the car-sills or bottom frame, which supports the hoppers 7, the bottoms of which are opened or closed by swinging Vdoors 8, which drop to dump the contents of 'the car.

At 9 a cylinder is indicated which is conveniently supported on the car-sills under the ridge between the hoppers. Air is supplied to the upper end of the cylinder by a pipe 10, which may be connected to any part of the air-brake systeml and is controlled by a suitable cocl, as indicated at 10m. The cylinder stands vertically7 and has a piston 11 and piston-rod 12 working therein. The lower end of the piston-rod is Hattened, as at 13, and this iiattened portion has a vertical slot 14 in each edge thereof.

At 15 bars are indicated which have in one position the function of levers and in the other positions the .function of simple thrust-bars, as hereinafter explained. Each of these bars is connected at one end to the piston by a pin The other end thereof is pivoted to the joint 17 of a toggle, one member, 18, of which is pivoted at 19 to the lower end of a strut 20, fixed to the carframe, and the other member, 18, of which is pivoted at 19L to the door 8. The member 18a is curved to give the proper direction of motion and is considerably longer than the member 18. The Vstruts are connected and braced by a horizontal' b'ar 21, extending between the ends thereof directlyY under the cylinder, and th isbar has a looped or elongated eye through which the flattened portion 13 of thev pistonrod works and is guided.

At 15su is a laterally-extending stud or projection on the bar 15, which strikes and rests on the brace 21 when the doors are closed.

In operation, the doors being open, as shown in Fig. 2, air is admitted behind the piston, driving it down, and with it the bars 15, which straighten the toggles and close the doors in an evident manner. The short member of the toggle describes a half-circle around its pivot and the long members are thrown out and up with the doors, which after being closed are kept closed with separate locking devices.`

To open the doors, the air is exhausted from the cylinder and the weight of the doors or the matter within the car will iex the toggles and lift the piston and its rod and allow the doors to drop. YWhen the doors start to open, the bars 15 act as levers to start the piston up. At such time the studs or projections 15 rest on the brace, and when the doors are unlocked and the weight comes on' the joint 17 its downward movement turns the bar 15 on the fulcrum 15*L as a lever, which has the effect of starting the lift of the piston and giving a purchase sufficient to continue said movement and prevent binding. If it be desired to open only one door, the slot 14 permits the other side to remain in closed position. As the pis- Vton lifts the pin 16 on the closed side will travel in the slot.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is*

1. The combination with a car having adischarge-door, of a compressed-air cylinder and its piston, va toggle one arm of which is connected to the door'and the other arm of which has a fixed pivot on the car-frame, and a rigid connection between the elbow of the toggle and the piston-rod.

2. The combination with a car having a dis- IOO charge-door, of a pressure-cylinder and its pist0n, a toggle connected to .the door, and'a thrust-bar pivoted to the toggle and having a sliding connection with the piston-rod.

3. The combination with a car having discharge-doors, of a pressure-cylinder and its piston between the same, struts projecting from the car between the cylinder and the doors, a brace between the struts, under the cylinder, having a guide for the piston-rod,

toggles connected at their ends to the struts 

